Highly commended for installation design of the year at Dezeen Awards 2019, Mud Shell uses drones to quickly coat a shelter in clay.

The fast construction method is used to demonstrate its potential application in refugee camps and disaster zones.

As part of Designjunction during London Design Festival 2018, French architect Stephanie Chaltiel and her team constructed Mud Shell, a sturdy domed shelter from bags of hay attached to a wooden lattice that was then sprayed with a mixture of clay and fibre using a drone. The initial geodesic skeleton is mounted in one hour, the dry prefabricated triangles containing the insulation material fitted onto the frame in one day and the drone spray phase of viscous matter stabilised with lime lasts two days and was performed for the public in heavy rain and wind conditions.

Built in three days in London Southbank, Mud Shell highlights an affordable and sustainable emergency housing system that could be adopted anywhere in the world. It aims to be a new model of an emergency shelter, using local materials and drones.

Designer: Mudd Architects
Project: Mud Shell
Highly commended for: Installation design